The present technology relates to an image processing device and method, a learning device and method, and a program, and more particularly, to an image processing device and method, a learning device and method, and a program capable of performing an image quality improvement process on various images including an edge or a texture without occurrence of deterioration.
In the past, in digital image data, sharpness processing has been performed to emphasize the contour or the like of an image. By heightening a difference (contrast) between gray scales of a contour portion through the sharpness processing, the sense of sharpness of an appearance can be intensified.
However, when the sharpness processing is uniformly performed even on any image, image quality may actually deteriorate. For example, when the sharpness processing is performed on an artificial image such as a character or a simple figure, a portion in which an edge is originally sufficiently cleared through appropriate sharpness processing performed on a natural image may be overemphasized, and thus deterioration such as ringing may occur in some cases.
That is, when sharpness of a texture portion in an image is attempted to be improved through the sharpness processing, the deterioration such as ringing may be conspicuous in an edge portion in the image. On the other hand, when the process of suppressing the ringing on the edge portion in the image is performed, the sharpness of the texture portion in the image may be weakened.
Accordingly, the applicants have suggested a method of enabling an improvement in the sharpness of an edge and an improvement in the sharpness of a texture to be compatible (for example, see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2007-251689).
According to Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2007-251689, for example, use of a dedicated edge process and a dedicated texture process is sorted depending on a feature amount of each region in an image.